Destinies Volition
by crimsonfirebolt
Summary: Set shortly after S4. Merlin wanders off on his own whilst the knights are out on patrol and stumbles upon a terrible sight. When he sees people in trouble will he return to protect his destiny and Arthur or will he fight for his kin? At the moment it will probably be a short chapter fic but has the potential to become much more if you like it. No slash. T rating for violence
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone, i havent given up on 'Gwaines Problem' just taking a break as i get my thoughts in order. This is set just after S4. I am thinking of making this into a looong story though at the moment i have only smoothed out my ideas for a couple of chapters so it can be read as a two-shot really. Im not even certain it will become a long chaptered story it will depend if you like it or not. Please read and review, tell me what you think, and what you think is going to happen! I'll be very interested.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Merlin could hear Gwaine laughing loudly from the other side of the clearing. The knights were sitting around the fire finishing off the meal Merlin had made, they were all in good spirits. The trip they were on was a routine check on the borders of Camelot and an excellent excuse for Arthur to get away from his Kingly duties for a couple of weeks. They had set off about ten days ago and with everything seemingly fine and would be setting off home tomorrow.

He was just feeding the horses and sorting out their packs before he went to collect the knights' empty dishes and wash them before he could turn in. He was glad they had gotten away from Camelot for a while, Arthur had been very stressed lately and the knights had grown restless from being cooped up helping their king. But Merlin had enjoyed the trip for other reasons.

He liked the woods, he could get away from the knights and walk around the woods and the streams pretending to go off on some chore or other and instead sit somewhere quiet and use his magic. He felt almost free out here. Almost.

He was smiling at the banter being thrown around between Gwaine and Arthur as he collected the pot and the dishes to head off to the stream. It was dark now but it wasn't far. The knights were just settling down on their bed rolls, Merlin knew they would all be asleep apart from the man on watch by the time he got back. Excellent, he could sit by the stream and mess around for as long as he wanted before anyone came to look for him. Freedom tasted good.

He arrived at the stream and sat down on the rocky ground placing the dirty dishes on the floor beside him. He leaned back against a rocky boulder as he slowly began to wash them. He finished them and placed them higher up the bank as he didn't want them washing downstream as he lazed here.

He gently cast his magic out around him briefly, just to the line of the trees on either side of the bank to make sure he was alone before he started to cast spells he had been practicing and play with the water from the stream.

* * *

He didn't know how long he was sitting there when he felt it. Letting the ball of water he was making float around drop, he sat up quickly. He looked around and strained his ears to try to figure out what had brought him from his trance.

Nothing.

No one was there.

But he could feel it. Feel something. And whatever it was felt wrong. There was something wrong. He turned back towards the camp meaning to go check on the others when he realised that it wasn't coming from that direction. It was coming from across the stream, the other side of the bank.

He stood up, feeling suddenly indecisive. He should go back to the others, if there was something wrong he couldn't risk leaving them defenceless. He chuckled. Well defenceless to a magical threat. And it must involve magic somehow or he wouldn't have sensed it so easily.

But.

What if it was something dangerous and it was heading towards the camp? If it was some sort of magical threat then surely it would be best if he knew what he was facing, plus if he had to use magic then wouldn't it be best also to use it away from the camp?

Yes, best if he at least knew what the problem was and if it had to be dealt with he could deal with it away from prying eyes. He would keep the camp at his back so he was always in the way between any dangers his friends would face.

Merlin picked his way over the stream carefully, not wanting to fall on the sharp rocks, and up the other side of the bank. He hesitated slightly as he reached the tree line, looking back over his shoulder towards the camp he was leaving behind.

But no, it would be fine, he would see what the problem was and be back at camp before anyone missed him. Nothing would go wrong. It was his destiny to protect Arthur and it was becoming harder to hide his magic from Arthur when they were attacked. Both Arthur and the knights were his friends and he had become closer to them all now he was seen more as an advisor to Arthur rather than just a servant, though he continued to serve him. It would be difficult to protect them from a magical threat if they kept looking over to check he was alright.

He told himself he would be back in no time and set off through the trees, being careful of where he put his feet and staying quieter than he ever did on any of Arthurs hunts.

As he crept through the foliage he could feel the waves of magic hit him. Getting more intense as he moved on, closer, closer to whatever this was. It felt bad, wrong and for some reason he knew that whatever this was wasn't a threat to Arthur, the knights, it wasn't a threat to Camelot.

It wasn't his destiny screaming at him that this was wrong, that it felt so wrong. It was his magic.

That thought stopped Merlin in his tracks as another wave of magic hit him. He realised that it wasn't just that he was getting closer to the source, his magic was reacting to it, pulling at him, panicking. It was wrong. But Merlin couldn't turn back now. Even though he knew this was no threat to his friends he had to find out what was happening.

He forced himself to move closer as his senses stretched, trying to find any clues as to what this was. He felt as if there was screaming in his head but he couldn't hear any, as if he could see someone's lips moving but could not hear the words that were being spoken.

He saw a ridgeline in the trees up ahead and crouched down even further till he was on the ground then he proceeded to drag himself up to the edge of the tree line.

The closer he got to the ledge the more his mind was screaming, unheard voices and silent warnings accosted him and made it harder to put one foot in front of the other as he teetered closer and closer. He was hidden behind a bush just a meter from the edge now. Steeling himself for what was out there below the ridge in the valley, he took a breath and crawled from his hiding place.

At the sight spread out below him his heart stopped, the breath sucked from his lungs. Because he suddenly understood, the screaming that he felt but couldn't hear, his magic flaring and pulling at him.

His magic wasn't pulling him away, it was pulling him to. The sight below him was horrible. It wasn't his magic screaming silently at him, it was the people below him. Bound and gagged and caged like animals. There were druids and sorcerers and people he couldn't even feel magic emitting from. Innocent people. Men, women and children. All caged. They were screaming with their minds, screaming for help.

His help.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, chapter 2 is up,I tried to upload this last night but my internet died. Little bit longer than I meant so have had to split this next bit in two. Tell me what you think.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Merlin surveyed the camp from his position on the ridge. Which was hard as his magic was reeling inside of him making it hard to think straight. It was really dark by now and he couldn't make out the far side of the clearing apart from where the treeline was as it stood out against the sky.

The cages holding all of the captives were almost directly in front of him, below the ridge he was hiding on. Merlin couldn't count all of them in the darkness as they were huddled together in some of the cells but he guessed there was anywhere between twenty or thirty of them locked up. The bandits had made camp around a fire behind this, further into the clearing, but beyond that merlin couldn't tell. He could see fifteen bandits maybe more sleeping around the fire in the centre of the camp.

Merlin looked back briefly the way he had come wondering whether he should go back and rouse the others. But no he couldn't. What if the bandits moved on by the time he got back to camp and explained what he had seen and made it back here? He had to help these people. He wouldn't ignore his kin any longer just to help Arthur's destiny. Arthur was in no danger; his kin had to come first now.

Plus, even if he made it back to camp how could he be sure Arthur would be willing to help? He had sworn to leave the druids in peace yes but saving magicusers from a fate that had nothing to do with him was a whole other step.

Arthur might not like bandits being on his land but Merlin wasn't even sure he was in Camelot any longer. They had camped near the border and he had wondered quite far.

If he wasn't in Camelot's borders then there was no way that Arthur would decide to help. Would he? Merlin knew he should be giving Arthur more credit; he had relaxed the laws on magic a bit since he was king. He gave everyone caught a trial and it wasn't just punishable by death. He had even given someone a week in the dungeons as a punishment before they had left. And he had agreed not to go after the druids, but this was too important wasn't it? He couldn't leave these people's lives to chance like that.

He was going to help them then and he wasn't going back for the knights.

So now what? He had to get down this ridge and into the camp without being noticed so he could open the cages.

Merlin looked around him. It looked as if this ridge went on for quite a way and he couldn't see any dips down to the valley below. He would just have to go over the edge and slide down behind the cages and hope he was quiet enough not to draw any attention. It was only about four meters down so hopefully he'd be out of sight before anyone noticed anything.

Merlin looked closer at the cages; they had to be warded in some way to stop the captives from using magic. Did the captives have chains that were warded as well or was it just the cages? If the captives had chains as well it would be near impossible for them to get away from the camp and free without being able to use their magic.

It didn't look to him as if they were chained but he couldn't be sure in this light. He had to hope it was just the cages.

Merlin checked the bandits were still sleeping before slipping over the edge and sliding down the ridge. He came to a stop on the ground by a big rock as pieces of rubble rained down around him. He stayed as still as he could waiting for any movement from further in the camp but he heard none.

He caught the wide eyes of a dishevelled looking druid in the cage closest to him. Motioning him to stay quiet, Merlin crept forward till he was hidden behind the cage to get a better look at the camp. The captives were locked but not chained up. Good.

"Help us, please, help" The man in the cage was pleading with him.

"I'll help, you need to stay quiet" The man nodded as Merlin edged around the front of the cage so he could keep an eye on the bandits.

He glanced back at the man "Tell everyone else to stay still and quiet"

The druid nodded as he moved to the other end of his cage and silently got the attention of the captives in the cages around him.

Merlin was surrounded by wild pleading eyes as he made his way to the cages furthest away from the camp. He would have to start as far away from the bandits as possible, the more people that could get away before the bandits realised his presence the better.

As he neared the furthest two cells he saw they were occupied by a young druid family and a middle aged sorcerer who was eyeing him suspiciously. The family had two young children a girl and boy who couldn't be any more than six and eight.

He spoke quietly through the bars to the father before he went to the sorcerer opposite them to repeat his instructions. The father was relaying the message to his wife and kids as he picked up his young daughter.

"I'm going to open the cages one at a time to try not to alert the bandits. Keep silent, lead the others into the forest and keep walking. Get as far away as you can from here, but stay quiet." The sorcerer nodded his understanding as Merlin moved away.

He repeated his message again to the next cage along and told them to pass the message on so that everyone knew what was happening before heading back to the young family that were closest to the forests edge.

He looked more closely at the lock on the cages. He could blow the doors open obviously but that would make a lot of noise and he didn't want that. He wrapped his hand around the lock letting his magic feel the structure. He could feel the lock mechanism inside, if he just used his magic to lift it out of place…..

The lock sprung open in his hands as his eyes flashed gold. He slowly opened the door motioning for the family to stay quiet as he headed over to the sorcerers cage. The sorcerer looked impressed at his idea and as merlin let him out the sorcerer ushered the family into the treeline and under the shadows as he waited to guide the others out.

Merlin moved on as quickly and quietly as he could, slowly nearing the cages closest to the camp. When he only had one line of cages left he turned to the others he had let out and gestured for them to leave as it was too dangerous for them to wait now. A couple of the stronger looking druids helped move everyone off to the trees and told them to keep going before turning back towards Merlin.

"We will wait here for the rest Emrys, the others are on their way. Do not waste time, it is too dangerous."

Merlin heard the druid speaking to him in his head; he nodded at the two waiting by the tree line for the last of the cages to be opened. One cage had a woman and two younger girls, if Merlin were to guess he would say they were both about fourteen while the other held another young family, this time the mother was holding a babe in her arms while the father was clutching his young son's wrist close to him.

Merlin glanced back at the camp to reassure himself that the bandits were still asleep before carefully releasing the locks on the two cages. He gestured to the two families to get away from the camp towards the druids waiting, before speaking telepathically to the druid who had spoken earlier.

"Go, I can't follow you I have to get back to Arthur, keep them safe for me."

The druid looked thoughtful for a minute as the last captives were whisked into the forest before he finally nodded and turned to follow the others.

Merlin sighed relieved that they had all got away, he turned back to the bandits one more time to check they were still unaware so that he could make his way back up the ridge to the stream but he stopped dead as something caught his eye.

There, on the other side of the clearing was another cage, more intricate and reinforced than the ones on this side of the camp had been. He could make out a shape huddled under a druids cloak in the far corner his arms out in front of him locked in cuffs that obviously had an enchantment on them to block magic. More powerful than even the cage that held him.

Merlin inched closer, careful to keep himself hidden by the last line of cages on his side of the camp. He strained his eyes to see the shape in the darkness to try to make out the druid. It was a boy of only about fourteen, dark hair and pale skin, he looked completely alone, powerless, frightened. Merlin stared at him for what felt like forever as his mind told him that he knew this boy and when he finally recognised him he felt a wave of shock run through him.

This boy, this powerless and frightened young boy, who was locked up and had his magic sealed away from him, barely recognisable from the boy he knew, was Mordred.

* * *

**Another cliff hanger, yes I know. I want to explain my logic about his age here. Im assuming Mordred was about 9 when he appeared in the first series and since that point im saying about 4 or 5 years have passed since this is directly after season 4. So he's about 13 or 14 years old here. Maybe. I'm not sure how good my guess of his age was but hey, it's my story and I think that's about right.**

**Review please, tell me what you're thinking. Will add another chapter or maybe two to finish this bit before I decide whether to take this story longer term.**

**Thanks to everyone who has read it and followed it and reviewed it, it's great motivation to keep going.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3's here. Well technically its chapter 3 and 4 as I decided to merge them as they were quite short individually. First bits from Elyans POV back at camp then the 2nd half is Merlins POV.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Elyan had been on watch for nearly 2 hours now and he was getting tired. He would turn in soon and wake someone else up for watch duty but he'd make one tour of the surrounding forest first.

Standing up from his position on a nearby rock he walked slowly into the treeline around the clearing they had made camp in. He would just check the nearby area for a couple of minutes before he headed back to wake someone else.

He walked in for about a minute before turning to walk a perimeter around the camp keeping the clearing to his left. He was just close enough to make out the camp fire through the trees as he made his way.

It was peaceful out here in the forest at night. They hadn't encountered any trouble on their trip and the border lands they were traveling had all been peaceful. They were to start heading back tomorrow and everyone was in a good mood. Even Merlin hadn't minded being on their hunts for food.

Thinking of Merlin, where had he got to? Elyan knew that Merlin liked taking his time on his chores around the forest as he liked the peace and quiet. Who wouldn't if they had to serve Arthur all day. So Elyan hadn't gone to find him when he had been at the stream for longer than was necessary but 2 hours was pushing it.

He'd be all grumpy tomorrow if he didn't get any sleep. Plus, just because they hadn't found any disturbances on their trip didn't mean it was safe to be wandering too far alone. They were on the borders of Camelot after all.

He decided that he'd wake Gwaine up for the next watch when he got back and he could send him to the stream to get Merlin to come back to camp. He couldn't go himself now as the stream was a little too far to leave the camp unprotected for so long.

He finished his circuit of the clearing and made his way to wake Gwaine up for second watch.

"Go get Merlin from the stream Gwaine, he's been out there too long. I'll stay on watch till you get back."

Gwaine shrugged himself out of his bed roll and pushed himself up, picking up his sword and placing it in his belt before walking towards the edge of the clearing.

"Oh and Gwaine, don't go wandering past the stream, you know it marks the border to Camelot. We don't want any trouble the day we're finally going home"

Elyan chuckled to himself as he sat back down on his rock and watched as Gwaine nodded and left to go get Merlin.

* * *

Elyan was staring wishfully at his bedroll by the fire waiting for Gwaine and merlin. They should be back by now. Maybe Merlin had moved downstream and fallen asleep somewhere and Gwaine was looking for him.

That was it, they'd be back any minute now and he could get off to bed. He yawned and stretched as he waited.

* * *

Elyan was just starting to get annoyed at Gwaine, thinking he was taking his sweet time on purpose just so he couldn't go to sleep, when he heard Gwaine jogging rather loudly back towards the clearing.

He stood up annoyed. What was he playing at? He'd wake the whole camp. He watched as Gwaine became visible between the trees and went over to him.

"What are you playing at? And where's Merlin?" He added as he looked around to find the servant before he registered the look on Gwaines face.

"I couldn't find him, the pots and bowls were at the stream cleaned and just left there. Merlin wasn't anywhere to be found, I looked in the forest around the stream too, he's nowhere. What if he's gone over to the other bank Elyan? Did he even know that was the border?"

Elyan was starting to get worried, normally he'd joke about how Gwaine probably hadn't looked properly and he was probably asleep somewhere but by the look on Gwaine's face and the amount of time he had been gone he was sure he had checked and checked again.

"I'm going back to look for him over the other side, I just came back to tell you." Gwaine turned to leave as Elyan caught his arm.

"You can't go over the other side, I told you, it's the border line. I'm sure Merlin just wandered into the forest, he won't have gone far. I'll wake Arthur and we can go look for him okay?"

"I looked Elyan! He isn't anywhere on this side. He wouldn't have left the stream by much if he was just sitting down somewhere. I was calling for him! He's not there"

Gwaine was raising his voice now sounding more and more exasperated, as Elyan tried to calm him down.

"Okay, listen I'm going to wake Arthur and tell him okay? Just wait a second"

Elyan checked Gwaine wasn't going to run off as soon as his back was turned before he went over to shake Arthur awake.

"Arthur, Arthur wake up"

Arthur swatted at him as he sat up, picking up his sword before he stood. He stopped still as soon as he was standing as he caught the sight of Gwaine, fidgeting and being very much awake.

He looked back at Elyan urgently as he realised he wasn't being woken to resume watch duty.

"Merlin's missing Arthur. I sent Gwaine to fetch him back from the stream before I ended my watch but he's not there" Seeing Arthurs face relax that it wasn't anything serious, Elyan continued trying to explain before something Arthur said about Merlin could set Gwaine off again.

"Arthur, Gwaines already looked for him. For ages. He isn't anywhere by the stream but the pots and stuff have been left there. We know where he was but he isn't anywhere to be found. Gwaine, Well, we think he's gone over the border. I don't think he knew it was the border. He hasn't been out here on patrol before. He might get himself in trouble."

Arthur looked indecisive. As King of Camelot, he knew he shouldn't be going over the border into another kingdoms territory but if Merlin was out there and stumbled into something he could get into a lot of trouble.

Elyan could see Leon and Percival stirring at the sound of the conversation going on. And Gwaine was obviously growing impatient at Arthur.

"Well _I'm_ going after him, he's our friend and he could be in danger" Gwaine turned as if to go back the way he came before Arthur shouted over to him.

"Gwaine, wait"

Gwaine turned back with an angry look on his face ready to argue with him as Arthur cut him off.

"I'm coming too." Elyan almost laughed at Gwaine's face as he swallowed the retort he had ready for Arthur.

"God knows what trouble you'll get yourself into without me"

Leon and Percival were both awake now and stood from their bedrolls at Arthur's last statement.

"Sire, what's happening?" Leon clearly looked perplexed at why they were all awake in the middle of the night when there was no obvious threat.

"_Mer_lin has decided to cross the border and has now disappeared. We're going after him before he gets himself into any _more_ trouble."

"More trouble?" Percival asked as both he and Leon picked up their swords ready to follow.

"Well, he'll be hearing from me, that's for sure. The _idiots _gone for a walk in the middle of the night and got himself lost!"

Arthur sighed as he looked around at his knights.

"Elyan you stay here with Percival. Keep watch on the camp, Leon you come with me and Gwaine. Hopefully we'll be back soon. If we aren't back before light pack up the camp and follow our tracks."

Percival nodded at Arthur as the three knights headed out of the clearing towards the stream.

"So what's actually been happening?" Percival asked as he sat back down.

Elyan laughed as he came over to sit down by the fire near Percival as he began to tell him everything that had happened and what Gwaine had said.

* * *

_**Part 2**_

* * *

Merlin was standing frozen, still hidden from the camp by the cages. His mind felt like it was spinning a thousand times a second and had stopped all at once. Mordred.

Mordred who was destined to kill Arthur.

Mordred who was powerful and had used his magic for evil.

Mordred who was sitting defeated and powerless in his cage waiting to die.

Mordred who was still just a kid.

No, Mordred was evil, he was going to kill Arthur. So Merlin should leave him for the bandits right? But then why did it feel so wrong?

He was just a kid. _A powerful sorcerer_. Locked up and powerless_. Evil and destined to kill Arthur_. Alone and helpless.

Could Merlin really do that? Just walk away. Leave a child locked up with no escape because of a destiny he hadn't fulfilled yet? Could he really punish him for something that hadn't happened?

Sure, Mordred had done evil things before but hadn't that been because he had tried to get Mordred killed in the first place? Maybe if he hadn't then Mordred wouldn't have turned. Maybe he was the one that caused Mordred's destiny. Just like he had a hand in why Morgana had turned.

If he hadn't blamed Mordred for something he hadn't done yet would Mordred be still be a threat to Arthur?

It was Mordreds destiny yes, but hadn't he chosen to follow his own destiny? Wasn't the reason he was still by Arthurs side because he believed in that future, that he believed in Arthur and that Arthur was his friend? If he walked away his destiny would fail wouldn't it? He could make that choice, so couldn't Mordred too?

If Mordred realised he didn't have to follow it, mighten he chose not to? Of course he might chose to follow it but could Merlin really let him die for something that may or may not happen in the future?

If Merlin walked away from a helpless druid boy instead of saving him, wouldn't he be walking away from his own kin? He had stood by and watched as too many had died already.

He could let Mordred out and let him make his own choice which could lead to Arthur dying or he could leave him locked up. But then there was always the chance that he could escape at some point and if he knew that Merlin had helped everyone else and once again tried to get him killed wouldn't that just cement his destiny?

He was so confused. He had tried to play with the future before. His visions at the crystal caves that he had tried to prevent had happened because of his intervention. So either way was what he did here going to cause Arthurs death? Did he have no choice?

No, he chose his destiny. And Mordred could choose his. He couldn't let him die; he just had to hope Mordred would change his own path.

Merlin stepped forward; the only way to get to Mordred was straight through the heart of the camp. As long as he kept quiet it would be fine. All of the bandits were fast asleep.

He made his way quickly through the camp, carefully stepping over any twigs or limbs in his way. He was just passing the last of the bandits and making his way the last few meters to Mordreds cage, he checked behind him to make sure everyone was still asleep, when he felt Mordreds gaze fall on him.

He turned slowly to see Mordred watching him from the back of his cage, still huddled under his cloak and chained up. Merlin picked up his pace as he closed the gap between himself and the cage. Wrapping his hand around the lock to see how he could break it as silently as possible. He felt that same silent voice in his head as he had when he was approaching the camp and looked up to see Mordred staring at him intently.

Merlin briefly turned to check the camp behind him before he spoke.

"I can't hear you, the enchantments on the bars are blocking your thoughts" Merlin moved his focus back to the lock in his hand, it was much more complicated than the locks on the cages that he had done before.

He felt Mordreds gaze on him for a while longer before he heard the boy starting to move. Merlin looked up to see what Mordred was doing, suddenly wary even though the boy was still chained.

He watched as Mordred crawled closer to the bared door trying to lift his cuffs as carefully as possible to not make any noise that could wake the bandits.

As Merlin watched he could see that Mordred was as conflicted as he was. He could see Mordred was still scared, he still looked terrified in fact, but he was overly cautious as well, he didn't know why Merlin was there or why he was helping him and the boy kept looking around as if this might all be a trap. But he still shuffled forward steadily, towards Merlin and the bars.

He stopped a pace away from the frame, staring at him again.

Merlin looked up from the lock, briefly meeting Mordreds eyes before looking down at the cuffs around the boys wrists.

"Let me see those" Merlin whispered gesturing towards the cuffs as he reached through the bars towards Mordred.

Merlin saw Mordred flinch back ever so slightly from his outstretched arm before bringing his wrists forward to meet his hand.

Merlin felt the magic in the cuffs, wincing back slightly from the touch at first he realised it wouldn't be an easy task to remove them.

He took his hand back out of the cage as he turned back around to survey the camp. There was no way he could break them open without waking the whole camp so he turned his attention back to the lock.

"I can't undo your cuffs here, it's too dangerous. I'll get you out first so you can get away from here"

He was just about to put his hand back on the lock before he heard Mordred speak for the first time.

"Emrys," Merlin nearly missed it, it had been barely audible, less than a whisper. He looked up at Mordred then and saw doubt shining in the boys eyes.

"I don't understand Emrys, Why are you helping me? This doesn't change what you did Emrys"

His last encounter with Mordred flashed through his mind. How he had tried to get Mordred captured and the words Mordred had thought before fleeing.

"_I shall never forgive this Emrys, and I shall never forget"_

"Im not here for forgiveness Mordred. I won't condemn someone for something they haven't done yet, if I do, I am no better than Uther. Destinies can fail, I did not know that before and I made a mistake but I do now. And I'm doing the right thing"

Merlin looked back down at the lock not waiting for Mordreds reaction as he let his magic flow into the mechanism and careful unlock them.

Just as he finished and the door came loose in his hands all hell broke loose around him.

* * *

**I think i just like cliffhangers. Sorry folks. **

**How was it? Merlins thoughts are suppose to be a bit jumpy as he is really conflicted but did it all make sense okay? Do you think he's doing the right thing?**

**The action will all start in the next chapter. So keep reading and review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait on this chapter. This is a shorter chapter. Its back to the knights point of view.**

* * *

Arthur had sent Leon to check for any signs of Merlin along their side of the stream. He didn't want to cross the border if Merlin had just wandered off and fallen asleep somewhere and Gwaine had just been lazy but he was beginning to regret sending Leon off to check as Gwaine was definitely getting on his nerves now.

Just getting on his nerves, mind. It wasn't like the fact that Gwaine was so worried about Merlin he was starting to worry or anything. Merlin was his friend sure, he could admit that now he was an advisor to him as well now, but Merlin was always disappearing. Merlin always came back. Gwaine was just over protective right?

Gwaine gave a very loud and agitated sigh, yet again and Arthur was just about to snap at him when Leon came back into view out of the trees ahead of them.

He was alone.

"Nothing sire. No trace of him. I think the tracks we can see on the other side must be his. There's no other ones around here."

Arthur pinched the bridge between his nose. This was not good. They were going to have to go over the border then. How long ago had he gone over? Surely he couldn't have got himself into trouble already?

He was brought out of his thoughts by Gwaine picking his way across the stream and to the other side of the bank. He saw Leon beside him watching him and waiting for his decision.

He sighed again and nodded as he started to follow Gwaine across to the other bank.

Gwaine was staring into the tree line now, having seen the tracks going into them.

"Gwaine, we need to be careful now, we can't be seen. We're going to find wherever Merlin is and then get out of here before any trouble starts okay?"

Gwaine nodded. Arthur wasn't very reassured by this as Gwaine would have agreed to anything if it meant he could go after Merlin.

Arthur headed into the treeline looking down at the tracks, checking behind him to see Leon and Gwaine following closely, he continued forward.

* * *

They had been walking for at least 20 minutes when they started to be able to see the trees thinning out in front of them. Arthur slowed, signalling behind him to make sure the others stayed hidden. He crouched down as he made his was slowly forward to the edge of the trees.

There was a ridgeline a little was ahead of him and the tracks went in that direction.

Where on earth are you going Merlin? He signalled to his knights to come forward to the treeline and to keep down.

Arthur was studying the tracks now. There weren't any coming back towards him but the ridge ended just there. And obviously Merlin wasn't there.

"Merlin must have gone over the ridge"

He muttered to himself more than to his men but he saw the worry in their eyes as their eyes followed the tracks to the edge. He had to grab Gwaine's arm as he set out forward.

"Stop, Gwaine. We can't see what's down the ledge. We have to be careful."

"Merlin could be hurt Arthur"

"I know but we can't just go charging up to a ridge when there could be anything down there. We aren't in Camelot, we have to be careful"

Gwaine glared at him but nodded. Arthur motioned for them to get down to the ground and they began edging their way over to the ridge.

Arthur stiffened as he reached the edge to look over. There was a large camp of bandits below them, and cages though they were empty now.

Where was Merlin? Why had he gone down there?

He motioned for the others to get back from the edge so they could talk. As he retreated back towards the treeline he studied the tracks.

"Sire?"

Leon was watching him carefully, not sure of what they were going to do next.

"These tracks don't show a struggle and it doesn't look as if he fell. If he wasn't seen maybe he is trying to find a way back up the ridge further along?"

Arthur couldn't find any other explanation, where else could he be?

Before he could stop him Gwaine had crawled forward towards the edge again to look down at the camp. Reluctantly Arthur and Leon followed him.

"Why would he have gone down in the first place sire? It doesn't make sense" Leon whispered.

"I don't know Leon, why would he have come all this way to begin with?"

Arthur looked over at Gwaine who was squinting down towards the camp below him as if trying to work something out.

"Gwaine?"

Gwaine looked up at him still trying to think something through.

"I think…well, these cages." He stopped again as he looked down again. "They're all empty"

"Great observation _Gwaine_ now do you have anything helpful to add?" Arthur was getting very annoyed now, none of this made sense and Gwaine wasn't helping him think properly.

Gwaine was giving Arthur a very dirty glare as he carried on.

"I _mean_, they're all empty _now_. But look at them. They're all open and it's obvious at least some of them were being used. You can see the stuff whoever were in them had left behind"

Arthur looked down at them again, he hadn't really been paying attention the first time except to see they were empty, he had been more occupied looking at the bandits and Merlins tracks.

But now that he looked he could see that Gwaine was right. The cages had been in use and if he were the bandits, he wouldn't be leaving all the doors wide open like that.

"So you think that whoever were in the cages have escaped" He glanced over at Gwaine who was squinting down at the camp again before looking back at him exasperated.

"No Arthur not escaped. Rescued. How would they have been able to get out by themselves? Merlins down there somewhere. I think Merlin found them and he decided to help them."

Arthur looked down again as if expecting to see Merlin standing there waving at him. Merlin? Why would Merlin…. No of course Merlin would want to help them. But how?

"How? Merlin would have needed keys to open the cages, the keys would be with…" He looked further into the camp at the bandits, but no, Merlin couldn't have been caught getting the keys or he wouldn't have been able to get back to open the cages.

"Even if he did, where is he now? Wouldn't he have just decided to…."

Arthur stopped abruptly as he heard a very soft clang of metal from the far side of the clearing that was covered in darkness. He could make out somebody moving on the far side of the camp. Was that Merlin, he saw a flash of red around the neck of the figure as it turned to check around him.

What the hell was he doing here still? And if they had heard the noise from over here surely….

He tensed again as he watched the bandits to check for any movement. He could feel Gwaine beside him move ready to jump down at any moment if he thought Merlin was about to be found out.

Looking closer he could see glints of the fire reflecting in what must be another cage. Merlin had it opened though, so whoever he was helping could get out of there and he could get away without being found right?

Arthur was willing Merlin to turn and take whoever he was with into the forest away from the camp. What was he doing? Why was he hanging around?

He placed a hand on Gwaines shoulders to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. The last thing he needed was Gwaine jumping down to help and waking up the rest of the camp.

He was just about to tell the others to stay still so Merlin had a chance to get away when he heard screaming suddenly coming from the forest to the side of the camp. Arthur wasn't sure in what order everything happened next, but he heard the camp waking to shouts from the bandits.

The screams were so loud now. Someone must be being dragged back to the camp. He watched helplessly as Gwaine charged out from where they were hiding and down the ridge.

He and Leon followed straight away. Gwaine couldn't have waited one minute to see what was happening could he. But Arthur felt the anger leave immediately. He knew Merlin was in trouble now. Not that they could actually see Merlin any longer through the men in front of them.

He had his sword in hand, cutting the bandits down as he fought, before he could work out where the screaming was coming from. Where on earth had Merlin gone?

They had charged through the camp before many of the men had seen them attack and had managed to get quite far before they were surrounded and had to stop to fight, but Merlin was nowhere to be seen.

That was good right? Wasn't it? That meant he had got away didn't it? Trying to think was very hard while he was fighting and trying not to get himself killed. Where had he gone?

* * *

**Did that make sense okay? Im not very happy with the chapter but it was necessary to get to the next bit.**

**Review would be greatly appreciated. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so so so sorry for making you all wait so long for this, but i have been really ill for however many moths now and whenever i was well enough to give it a try it just didnt work so i ended up deleting it.**

** But here is the next chapter. its a short one because i just wanted to give you something as soon as possible. Hope you like it, its still not perfect but as good as its gunna get im afraid. **

**Thank you all for the follows and reviews. I wouldnt have come back to write more if it wasnt for you all.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Merlin was desperately trying to undo the lock on the cage but he was very aware of the whole of the camp waking up behind him. He kept glancing back expecting an assault at any moment. He should have been quicker, if he had gone with the druids they would be safe. Not screaming and being dragged back to camp. This was his fault. He had to get back to help them.

The lock sprung open in his hands just as he heard a shout from the other side of the camp that was worryingly familiar. Gwaine. The knights had obviously come after him when they had found he was missing from the stream bed.

He turned round to see the three red cloaks of the Camelot knights charging into the bandits. Just the three, Gwaine was in front charging down the hill with Leon and Arthur at his back. Elyan and Percival must have stayed back at camp then, or were they out in the forest trying to help the druids? Merlin didn't know but he forced himself to focus on what was happening in his immediate surroundings.

The knights would keep the bandits off of his back for a minute or two at least, long enough to get Mordred out of the camp, but he couldn't use magic in the open anymore. Arthur always had to appear at the most inconvenient of times didn't he?

He turned back to Mordred who he realised had shrunken back into the depths of his cell as if wishing that it were still locked so he would be safe.

Merlin was hit once again at how young and frightened the boy was. Without his magic he was nothing. He could be killed in an instant.

Merlin couldn't leave him like this. Not without his magic when the bandits were crawling all over the forest looking for the druids he had already set free. But could he leave Arthur against all these bandits? After all it was his fault the knights had come at all. If he had stayed back at camp like they had told him to and not walked towards the danger alone, none of them would be here.

What if they got themselves killed while he was trying to get Mordred away. No, the knights had swords, they could defend themselves, Mordred had nothing.

He launched himself forward into the cage to grab Mordreds cloak and, pulling him forwards, he gave one last helpless look back to Arthur.

The bandits were split between looking for the druids and fighting him, Leon and Gwaine. Arthur could handle that couldn't he? All Arthur had to do was hold them off for long enough for Merlin to get Mordred hidden. Then he'd be back. It would be fine.

With a sigh he dragged Mordred off into the forest, keeping low as soon as they reached the undergrowth so as to try to keep attention off themselves.

He pushed Mordred down into the hollow of a tree as he crouched down in front of him. He had to get these cuffs off of Mordred. Preferably quickly and without blowing Mordreds hands off in the process. The cuffs were laced with dark magic. If he wasn't careful his magic could be redirected and bounce off and hit Mordred.

He was staring so intently at the cuffs on the druids wrists trying to figure out the best way to get them off that he nearly jumped when Mordred next spoke to him.

"Why are you helping me Emrys?" Merlin glanced around worried about being over heard before he realised it had been directed to him telepathically.

"I told you already" Merlin sighed as he put his attention back to the cuffs.

"EMRYS BEHIND YOU"

Merlin spun just in time to catch a dagger from imbedding itself in his chest with his magic. Throwing the attacker against a tree and knocking him unconscious, he rose quietly to check around them again but it seemed the bandit had broken off from the group to follow them and was alone.

"You said that out loud Mordred," He said, eyeing the boy in front of him curiously before placing his hands around the cuffs on Mordreds wrists. He very rarely heard the boy speak aloud willingly. When he had been in the cage it was necessary but the cage was not blocking his telepathy anymore.

He could feel the magic on the cuffs burn at his hands as he held on to it, carefully probing it with his magic to see how it would react. He knew he couldn't use the same instinctual magic he used on the cells for this, it was too rough and could easily backfire. Merlin just hoped this would work.

"Unspanne tospringe" He felt his eyes glow gold as he directed his magic to flow carefully into the cuffs seeking out the weaknesses in the enchantments he had felt earlier.

He let out a sigh of relief as the lock broke open silently and the cuffs fell away from Mordreds arms.

He looked up at the druid boy who was now staring at his free wrists. "Get away from here quickly Mordred"

Merlin turned but Mordred grabbed his arm as he moved to get back to Arthur and met his eyes.

"Thank you Emrys"

Merlin nodded slowly as he took in the emotion in the boys eyes, but turned quickly to run back to the camp, hoping Arthur and the knights were still okay and the druids that had been caught had not been too badly hurt.

* * *

**The spell he uses is a mix of the normal spell for unlocking things and the spell he uses in 'The Lady of The Lake' to unlock Freyas enchanted handcuffs. Got it off Merlin wiki.**

**Please review and tell me what you think. **

**Also its coming up to the point where i have to decide whether to carry on the story past this 'episode' or not, so what do you guys think?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Next chapter! Im not as late as i was last time. I reckon there are two chapters left of this story and i think i will carry it on as a sequel rather than on the end of this one.**

**This chapter is from Leons point of view. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

The stream of bandits seemed to be never ending. There had been groups hidden in the forest obviously, though what they were doing there was beyond Leon. Sure some of them might have been on patrol but there wouldn't have been any need for this many to be away from camp. Of course, if Gwaine hadn't rushed forward into danger so quickly, they could have scouted the area like they should have.

Leon sighed as he tried to dispatch another bandit. He always knew Gwaine would get him killed one of these days. He just hoped Arthur could get out of here alive.

Though Leon knew that Arthur wasn't going to leave without Merlin, who Leon remembered had disappeared a while ago, just as the fighting had started.

This was a mess.

Gwaine had charged in without any inkling of a plan.

They had followed of course but he wasn't about to let one of his knights face danger alone. Even if it _was_ Gwaine.

They knew they were outnumbered before they ran in to the melee but as more and more bandits appeared out of the forest the situation was quickly becoming hopeless. And it wasn't often Leon ever let himself think that, no matter what the odds.

Leon kept glancing back at the other knights. At least none of them had been injured yet. Though if that was going to continue they needed to get out of here soon.

He had been hoping that Elyan and Percival would be here by now. They surely had heard the bandits prisoners screaming as they had been recaptured. They should be on their way to check it out. They wouldn't get half way before the sound of clashing swords would reach them.

They should be here any minute, and then they could all try to get out of this mess. Even with all of them together it would be impossible to defeat all of the bandits but they would stand a much better chance of fighting their way out together.

If they could find Merlin.

Leon looked around him trying to remember which bit of the camp Merlin was in when he disappeared.

Glancing over, Leon nearly missed a block with his sword as he saw Merlin emerge from the trees unharmed.

Leon was quickly distracted as he heard shouting from the other side of the melee. Elyan and Percival had joined the fight and were working their way over to them.

He tried to get closer to Arthur to get his attention, Merlin was there, the knights were there, all they had to do now was get out.

Somehow.

Leon noticed that Merlin had found a sword and was attempting to get to them through the bandits.

It was too far. There were just too many of them.

He heard a shout of pain from behind him.

He recognised that voice.

Gwaine.

Leon spun around, deflecting the blows that came his way as he tried to search out Gwaine.

The knight had fallen to a knee and was clutching his left arm close to his body, but was rising and still managing to hold off his attackers.

For the moment.

They couldn't hold for much longer. They had to get out of here before they were all too tired or injured to make it.

Arthur had made it to his side now as they tried to get to Gwaine.

"We need a way out Leon, Gwaine won't be able to hold for much longer"

Leon spared half a glance at his prince. Arthur was a brilliant warrior and leader but he didn't half state the obvious some times.

He knew they had to get out, but just like Arthur, he couldn't see a way through.

They were with Gwaine now, and not a second too soon either as the brash knight fell to his knees again.

Leon could see Elyan and Percival close in on their position as well. At least they were all together now. Maybe one last push and just maybe they could break out.

But they needed Merlin first.

Leon looked over to where Merlin was, still fighting on the outskirts of the camp. Leon could see him glancing desperately around him and towards them.

Leon knew Merlin well, he knew Merlin was never one to give up. Even when they had gone against an immortal army, twice, Merlin had been the one to keep Arthur going. So Leon could read Merlins expression well. And the look on Merlins face stopped him still.

Merlin was afraid. Hadn't Leon said himself he looked desperate.

Leon glanced around him again, and really looked this time.

Because no matter what Arthur accused Merlin of the boy wasn't stupid, nor was he a coward. And so Leon looked to see what Merlin did.

Leon saw it.

There _was_ no way out.

There was no way they were all getting out of this. There were just too many of them.

Leon was about to turn back towards Arthur when he saw something move in the trees behind Merlin.

He could just about make out a cloaked figure standing just under the cover of the trees, Leon had this eerie feeling fall over him, whoever it was, they were watching merlin closely. Leon didn't know how he knew this, whoever it was, they had the cloak covering their face so there really was no way to tell what the figure was looking at. But somehow he knew. And he didn't like it.

He started to move towards Merlin, leaving Arthur and the others behind. The others would protect his Prince, but if they couldn't get Merlin, Leon knew Arthur wouldn't leave. And there was something about the figure that Leon didn't trust.

He saw the figure take a small step closer to Merlin out of the tree line. Dark green cloak keeping his face completely in darkness.

Leon was desperately trying to get to Merlin now. He had just switched his gaze back to Merlin when his heart nearly stopped.

NO,

He wasn't close enough. Leon couldn't do anything as he saw another bandit swing his sword in a high arch down to the recently disarmed Merlin.

He saw Merlins face turn towards him as he realised he had no way to block the sword.

Leon shouted out what he knew was a too late warning.

But it was drowned out by another shout.

Leon looked up in shock.

The shout had come from the ominous figure behind merlin, who had flung his hand out in front of him in a frantic gesture just as the sword had arched down towards Merlin. Leon saw his eyes glow gold through the shadow of his hood before he felt himself hurled to the ground.

He landed painfully as his head hit the ground underneath him. Leon looked up briefly to see everyone else on the ground apart from Merlin who was looking back towards the figure in the tree line but before he could say anything he felt himself give in to the coming blackness and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

**As always R&R please.**


	7. Chapter 7

**SO, its been a looong time, sorry everyone. I feel guilty i do, but ive been between loads of hospital appointments and just havent been able to update. I was helping a friend out on a fanfiction she was writing and decided you all deserved an update from me as well. so here it is, Leons a bit worse for wear bless him.**

**Enjoy, and please review if you want more.**

* * *

Leon groaned into consciousness as he started to become aware of lying awkwardly on the muddy ground. He could hear quiet movement and suddenly he was being shaken awake by someone saying his name softly as if worried he would wake others.

Leon cracked his eyes open and had to wait while his eyes found the dark shape of his Prince crouched beside his prone form.

"Leon, we have to get out of here before they all wake up, quickly, can you stand?" Leon looked up at Arthurs earnest eyes as he tried to find his memories about what had happened. He glanced around at the melee of fallen bandits around him and caught sight of Elyan and Percival supporting Gwaine between them trying to navigate carefully to the relative safety of the tree line.

The tree line where the sorcerer had stood.

Leon shot up from his position on the ground and spun towards the space where it had been but before he could look he swayed violently. Only staying upright because of Arthurs grasp around his side. He heard Arthur curse under his breath as he tried to steady Leon, grabbing his arm and pulling it over his shoulder.

"Arthur, it was magic, he…."Leon was lost, what had happened? He wasn't sure yet and Arthur didn't seem to be listening to him as he concentrated on getting them both away from the camp.

He felt Elyan at his other side before he saw him, grabbing his other arm to help. Leon let himself be manhandled away from the scene as he tried to remember why he was feeling so troubled about what had happened.

They had gotten away fine, apart from Gwaine, but his injury couldn't have been life threatening if he had manage to continue his fight. They were all making it to safety so why did he feel like he was missing something important?

The sorcerer had knocked them all out. He had been running towards Merlin when the sorcerer had attacked them all. But the sorcerer was gone now. Where?

And where was Merlin?

"Sire," Leon tried to focus on Arthur as he spoke, "Sire, where's Merlin, the sorcerer…."

"Merlin's fine Leon, damn sight better than you right now, it was him that woke us up first. I sent him to try to find a route back to our camp and our ownborder that won't be seen"

"Merlin, woke us up?"

"Yes Leon," He felt Arthur chuckle a bit as he adjusted his weight.

"Elyan, go that way to the ridge line there, we'll wait here till Merlin gets back" Arthur ordered the others to go towards a small area that was set back against the ridge.

Elyan came back towards him to take him off Arthurs hands and put him down against the ledge next to Gwaine who looked more alert than Leon himself felt right then.

"Percy, check the area I don't want to get ambushed while we wait, Elyan check the immediate ridge line as well, see if there is any obvious route back to camp that merlin might have taken."

Leon watched as they both set out to look and Arthur settled down next to Gwaine to check on the knights wounds.

Merlin. It was something about Merlin, Leon was sure of it. Something he couldn't quite remember. Why had he been surprised that Merlin had woken them up? He must have woken up first, someone had to. Leon tried to remember what was wrong.

He had been running towards Merlin when they had all been attacked. Right, so Merlin had been closest to the sorcerer, so shouldn't he be hurt the worst seeing as he was closest?

Merlin was closest, Leon remembered that much. Maybe Merlin had managed to throw himself out of the way, he did vaguely remember calling out a warning to Merlin. So maybe that was it.

Yes he could see it now, Merlin had been in trouble and he had called out to stop …No, Leon had called out to stop the bandit with the sword not the sorcerer.

And Merlin had been weaponless and trapped.

Leon remembered with a start.

The sorcerer hadn't ATTACKED them all, the sorcerer had reacted to Merlin being in danger!

Why? Why would a sorcerer try to help Merlin?

Merlin had just saved him he supposed, and the load of who he assumed were druids, from the cages, maybe it had been some sort of weird repayment.

But that didn't make sense either, why had the sorcerer knocked them all out if he just wanted to help Merlin.

Leon tried to think of the last thing he remembered.

He was fighting his way towards Merlin, Merlin was in trouble, he had shouted out, and then the hooded figure had flung them all backwards.

Leon had been on the ground before he had realised what the sorcerer was doing, but he had glanced back one last time. To make sure Merlin was okay.

That was _it_. Merlin _was_ okay. Not just okay but upright and conscious.

Merlin had been talking to the sorcerer when Leon had blacked out.

So Merlin must know him, knew him somehow, helped him on purpose. But Merlin wouldn't do that would he? It was Merlin for heaven's sake.

But why else would Merlin risk his life to save a sorcerer. And if Merlin was friends with this sorcerer, if he was helping the sorcerer who knocked them out escape then…

"Arthur, we have to get out of here" Leon pushed himself against the rock face.

"We're waiting for Merlin, Leon he'll be bac…"

"No he won't sire" Leon cut him off, they didn't have time for this.

He saw Arthur give him a funny look as he too stood up.

"It's _Mer_lin Leon, of course he'll be back, we just have to…"

"No sire, he isn't coming back this time, we have to get out of here, it's not safe, the bandits could be coming after us already"

Leon could feel Arthurs stare trying to get a read on him, careful not to look away Leon continued.

"I saw him Arthur, he was helping the sorcerer escape"

"Leon, he thought they were all druids, he was just.."

"No sire, after that," Leon could see Arthur getting annoyed now. He had to convince him fast.

"The sorcerer who knocked everyone out, everyone _but_ Merlin, Merlin knows who this sorcerer is, he's protecting him. He isn't coming back sire, we have to get out of here, find our own way back to camp before the bandits catch us up"

Elyan and Percival had both come back within hearing distance during his rant and were now looking awkwardly between him and Arthur. Arthur who was just staring at him openly.

"I think Leon's had too much Ale"

Arthur looked sharply down at Gwaine, who promptly shut up. Returning to staring at Leon, Arthur opened his mouth to reply when there was a crash from above.

Leon drew his sword as he heard the others do the same only to look up at Merlin who was hanging his head over the ridge line above them.

"I heard you guys from a mile off, you're supposed to be _hiding_ from bandits remember. What was so important anyway?" Merlin smiled down at them all.

After getting nothing but gaping stares back he persevered.

"There isn't a way up for miles, especially not one that Gwaine can get up so I went all the way back to camp to get rope, hold on while I fasten it round a tree then I'll throw it down" Merlin disappeared over the ridge again as silence descended between the knights.

* * *

**Hope that was okay, need to get back into the swing of things.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Right, a new chapter for you all. I apologise again about the long wait. And if it weren't for the reviews and follows then it probably would have taken me even longer. So thank you all for keeping me motivated.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Arthur could hear Merlin tying off the rope on the ridge above them, he wasn't exactly being quiet about it but then, they should be far enough from the bandits' camp to not be overheard.

Not that any of them were saying anything. At all. To anyone. He could feel Gwaine's glare alternating between him and Leon; not sure which to be more annoyed at but wanting to defend his friend regardless. Elyan and Percival had both come closer to the group but were shifting uneasily from foot to foot glancing at each other nervously.

Arthur was just about to snap at them to stop it when Merlin appeared above them holding the end of the rope.

"All done" He smiled stupidly.

"Finally _Mer_lin" Arthur breathed sounding more relieved to get out of the oppressive air than he had wanted to.

And of course, the idiot had picked up on his tone, he could see Merlin briefly looking around and taking in the way everyone was acting as he realised something was wrong.

Arthur quickly moved forward so that Merlin could pass him down the rope, hoping to stop any questions Merlin was about to ask. He took the rope in his hands and gave a firm tug putting his weight behind it to make sure it held. Earning him a sarcastic eyebrow from Merlin for his lack of trust in him. Arthur almost smiled.

He turned to look at the group around him; sighing silently to himself, he started planning who was going to be helping who up the ridge, trying to make sure to keep Leon from being alone with Merlin. Or worse, Gwaine from being alone with Leon.

"Right. Percival, you go up first, Elyan and I can pass Gwaine up to you." He was interrupted by Gwaine protesting that he could manage but Arthur ignored him and carried on. Gwaine could barely stand up by himself let alone pull himself up a rope.

Arthur shook his head then continued. "Elyan you can follow Gwaine up, and I'll make sure Leon can get up okay" He looked at Leon sharply then, before motioning for them to get moving.

He could still feel Merlin watching him strangely as if trying to read from his face what had happened while he was gone, but at least the idiot had enough sense not to ask him right now. No, it would be best if they could hold off this conversation until they were at least back at their own camp.

Arthur went over to Gwaine and Elyan as he watched Percival climb up the ridge. Carefully hoisting Gwaine up between them, they passed him up to Percival who had reached down to grab Gwaine's arms.

Gwaine muffled his grunts of pain as he was pulled up and over the ridge. Arthur could hear him getting quieter as he moved away from the ledge but he could hear Merlin chuckling about Gwaine's protests so he knew Gwaine was still complaining.

Even their banter couldn't lift his mood right now. He kept thinking over what Leon had said, and as much as he didn't believe that Merlin would leave, he couldn't help but think Leon must have seen _something_ to make him react like that.

Leon had been knocked out, but Arthur still trusted his judgement. The knight was the most experienced and had been through as much as any of them. If Leon said something was wrong, then there was something wrong. But, Merlin?

Arthur didn't know of any ill feeling between the two of them before today, in fact, he would have said Leon admired Merlin slightly. So, why would he have changed his mind so suddenly?

Arthur knew that Merlin was sympathetic to the druids, he had helped one escape Camelot before after all, and he supposed living with the court physician may have made him even more sympathetic to those who were suffering but to suggest that Merlin was actively helping a sorcerer. No. Maybe Leon had assumed too much after seeing Merlin help the person out of the cage. Whatever it was, he would have to talk to them about it once they were safely back in Camelot.

He sighed as he noticed Elyan hesitating before climbing up, looking between him and Leon.

"Go on Elyan, we have to get back to our own borders before light"

Elyan nodded briefly before climbing up the ridge. He could still hear Gwaine grumbling about something to Merlin, doing his best to lighten the mood.

Arthur turned to Leon, trying to stop his thoughts from circling.

"Can you climb?" He wasn't about to have this conversation here; out in the open, overheard by the others. Plus, they really did need to make it back to their camp and by extension Camelot. Gwaine's arm, though not life threatening, still needed looking at or it would become infected.

Leon nodded warily; he was still a little wobbly on his feet but looked as if he could make the climb alright. So Arthur motioned for him to get up the ridge first.

Percival was still at the top and helped Leon over the ridge and over to where the others must be as they disappeared from view.

Arthur took a deep breath. This was going to be a _long_ ride home. Hell, it was going to be a long trek back to camp and that wasn't even that far. Or, well, he didn't think it was that far but they may have come further out than they thought in their haste to get away from the bandits' camp. But if Merlin could make it by himself then it couldn't be that difficult to find the camp.

With one last look around him at the empty forest he scaled the rope himself; climbing over the ridgeline and up to the others.

"Right, which way's camp Merlin?" Merlin looked at him with that eyebrow raised again as if about to make a silly remark about why Arthur was asking him, but he had obviously seen something on Arthurs face to stem his remark and simply jerked his arm behind him.

"That way"

"Lead the way then" Again Merlin gave him a funny look before shrugging and helping Gwaine up from the tree trunk he was leaning against.

Arthur set off behind Merlin, putting Gwaine and his helpers between himself and Leon. He didn't want to think about this right now and he knew if Leon thought they were in danger from anyone (_Merlin really?)_ then he wouldn't stop pestering him about it.

The walk was actually much shorter than Arthur had expected, they had ended up closer to the stream that marked the edge of Camelot's territory. The ridge must have bent back towards their camp further along.

Arthur was glad, as he didn't think he could take one more moment of the silence they had walked in. Gwaine had started the journey telling all kinds of jokes but had soon lapsed into silence, whether from his injury or being ignored Arthur wasn't sure, but the longer the walk had gone on, the more he had begun to whack over hanging branches and kick twigs out of his way. He could feel Merlin wasn't by his side anymore, which was an odd show of self-preservation from him.

When at last they did make it across the stream, the light was starting to show over the trees; they must have spent longer at the bandits' camp then they had thought. Or maybe they were unconscious for longer than they thought and Merlin hadn't woken them up straight away like he had first assumed.

Arthur sighed for what felt like the hundredth time and collapsed by the river, speaking over his shoulder to the others.

"I'm getting a drink, go back to camp and I will join you soon"

He could feel the others hesitate then move off through the trees back to camp, but was aware that not all of them had left.

About ready to shout at this point, Arthur didn't turn round, he just stared resolutely at the stream in front of him, willing whoever it was to just leave. He assumed it was Leon, and really, hadn't he realised by now that Arthur was _not_ going to talk about this here.

Still not turning round he spoke again. "Go back to camp Leon, that's an order"

He wouldn't normally say something like that, heck, he wouldn't normally have had to say something like that. But he could feel Leon still standing there.

Arthur pushed himself to his feet and slowly turned to his Knight.

Now that Arthur could see him, he realised why he hadn't left. Merlin was also there, standing back against the treeline, as if he sensed that for some reason he should keep his distance from Leon.

But when Arthur took another glance at his manservant he altered his previous thought. Maybe he was staying back from him as well. Merlin did after all have absolutely no idea what was going on, so maybe he was just staying back from everyone.

"_Leon_" Arthur's voice was cold, daring Leon to disobey the direct order he had given him.

Arthur watched as Leon spared one last glance at Merlin before finally acquiescing and walking back towards camp. Finally slumping down by the stream again he splashed his face with the cold water.

It wasn't till Arthur was sat back on his heels that he eyed Merlin suspiciously.

"Why are you so quiet? Not that I want you to annoy me or anything but you're never _this_ quiet. I would like to think it was because you had some common sense but I think we've gathered over the years that you don't."

No reaction, nothing. No silly comment about how it was him who had no common sense. He had been at least expected some kind of poor insult thrown back at him but Merlin just stood there. Looking at the spot Leon had since vacated.

"_Mer_lin?" Arthur was on his feet now, though he seemed to be rooted to the spot. Why _was_ Merlin being so quiet? Had he overheard the argument they were having before he got back to them or, was he hiding something like Leon had been suggesting?

"We should get back to camp sire; the others will probably have packed up and be ready to leave by now."

They probably should, but Arthur wasn't about to go back to camp in a worse mood than he had been before.

"You're acting suspiciously you know _Mer_lin." Arthur said just throwing that out there to test Merlins reaction.

"You're the one attacking tree branches, prat" Merlin shot back and Arthur found himself relaxing just a little.

Maybe he had been over reacting a bit.

"Come on then Clotpole, back to camp"

"That's my word!"


End file.
